i would get a couple of cans of break cleaner. degreaser might help, but that buddy knife and break cleaner are going to expedite the process faster
the puddy knife and maybe a couple of smaller sized punches to get in the little knooks and crannies is a good idea. Mine was caked on about 3/16" thick. I scraped about half of it off and realized i was going to have to get my
![Moon :moon:](https://board.marlincrawler.com/Smileys/marlin/moon.gif)
into it.
![Yes Nod :yesnod:](https://board.marlincrawler.com/Smileys/marlin/yesnod.gif)
good luck. if you still have axle grease inside, break cleaner isn't going to just spray it out, so don't waste your time. take a shop rag and get in there and scrape it out, then break clean, then scrape it out again. I'd say without soaking the parts, it took me a good hour and a half from start to finish to get them both clean. good luck